India’s football dilemma: What next after Sunil Chhetri? Chhetri himself

Chhetri and Indian football are two inextricably linked entities ever since his debut as a 20-year-old in 2005. 19 years on, with the Indian legend approaching the sunset of his career, in what is undoubtedly his last appearance for India in a major tournament, the question inevitably arises – what next for India under coach Igor Stimac and Sunil Chhetri?

The current situation

The AFC Asian Cup was supposed to be Chhetri’s farewell, but India’s stalwart has already made clear his intention to continue past this tournament.

…Why?

Maybe saying his farewell after India’s potential group stage exit isn’t befitting India’s greatest modern footballer. Maybe he wants to reach the 100-goal mark – an achievement he’s projected to complete in another 11 games (Chhetri’s goals-per-game average in international football is 0.64). Maybe the feat of pushing India to their first-ever appearance in the third round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers is a better note to end on.

What do Chhetri and Stimac say

“Right now, the team still needs me,” said Chhetri in an interview with the Hindustan Times ahead of the Asian Cup. It’s hard to dispute that statement – India scored 21 goals in a hugely successful 2023, and Chhetri scored 9 (43%) of them.

Even if you put together all the goals from wide-forwards Naorem Mahesh Singh (3), Lallianzuala Chhangte (3), Manvir Singh (1), Udanta Singh (1) last year – it’s still not enough to beat Chhetri’s tally.

In an interview with the Indian Express last year, Stimac underlined his intention to keep persisting with Chhetri, saying “The question is always, ‘Who after Chhetri?’ but I never thought that way… With his body, the numbers are perfect – be it body fat percentage or weight. Why should we think about Chhetri retiring? I’m going to do everything in my power to help him play for another five years.”

How are India with Sunil Chhetri?

For near two decades, Chhetri’s fortunes have been synonymous with those of the national team. To the layman, he *is* Indian football. He struts into this Asian Cup as the oldest outfield player, the one with the most international goals, and the second-highest number of caps (145) and has scored a quarter of India’s goals in the competition.

His relatively poor form for Bengaluru FC in relation to the national team has always been an irrelevance – over the last two seasons, both Mahesh (17) and Chhangte (33) have bettered Chhetri’s goal involvements in club football (16). Yet, when Chhetri is bedecked in the national team’s blue jersey with the orange captain’s armband, he’s a different animal. Not the fading superstar that looks off-pace for Bengaluru FC, but the hungry rookie ready to chase every ball and lead the line, as he did on his debut in 2005.

Lionel Messi also made his international debut that same year, and it’s a testament to Chhetri that he’s scored at a similar rate across 19 years. That oft-mentioned stat – of him being the fourth-highest scorer ever in the list of male footballers – only behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei and Messi bears repeating once more.

India, with Sunil Chhetri, put the ball in the back of the net.

How do India play without him?

Igor Stimac has tried his best, to be fair. The likes of Rahim Ali, Ishan Pandita, Manvir Singh and more have featured in the centre-forward’s role over the course of the Croatian’s tenure in charge of Indian football. For Stimac, there is no next after Chhetri – even in an U-23 competition like the Asian Games a few months ago, his pivotal goal-getter started the first game.

Yet, if one is brave enough to look past his eventual retirement, there may be a silver lining – Chhetri casts a massive shadow on the pitch, and some of his current teammates would thrive without him. It’s no secret that the first instinct of an Apuia, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Mahesh or Chhangte is to find their talisman on the pitch, even at the cost of picking out teammates in better positions.

If he’s not around, that would change, and when afforded the freedom from Chhetri’s albatross-like presence on the pitch, India’s promising next generation can blossom. In the few instances that Chhetri did not feature in 2023, the team looked more fluid and varied in their build-up, arguably creating more chances, but… scoring none of them.

India, without Sunil Chhetri, do not put the ball in the back of the net… yet.

What, then, is the solution/outcome?